The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1887-02-27
Especial correspondence !

to cry out the other day when read the an
nouncemcnt Of the death Of daughter OF Will
liam VI. Tweed, TO which the newspapers added /
a list of the wedding gifts, their cost, and the
donors which she received on her marriage, on |
May 81, 1871, only sixteen years ago. Those |
were the days of Twceds cxultation and honor /
and display. They were subscribing TO statue
Of him TO he built In one OF the city parks, which
was to be named Tweed plaza What wonder, |
then, that In the account OF the wedding OF the !
daughter the donors should desire their gifts
described and their extravagant cost an
nounccdY They sent notes to all the papers,
giving facts; and from Twccd's house n
full list was sent to all the papers, over the
signature Of Foster Dewey, his private secre-
tary, the name no, being for publication, but as
a guarantee of good faith. II will be curious to
trace the fate OF these givers, particularly II II
is done by one who personally knew the majority
of them. Tweed, the father, himself gave the
bride fine mansion in New Orleans, to which
her husband took her, and check for 500, 900;
and the check was cashed, too In twelve
month Tweed was powerlcss, under indictment,
and shortly after was on Blackwell's Island as
a convicted thief. A little later he was fugi-
tive; was recapturcd and thrown into Ludlow
street Jail, unable to obtain bail There he was
! taken care of by Foster Dewey, his former pri-
vate secretary, who paid SI5 week for his
board. At that time Tweed had not enough
money to pay lawyer, and gave one draft on
Jay Gould, which the latter refused to accept
"Prnce" Harry Genet, then Senator, gave the
bride u 900 diamond cross. In year or so
Genet was convicted of embczzling city funds,
escaped, was long fugitive from justice, finally
returned, got of with fine, started a bar
| room and failed; and now almost every day
see him on the street, addressed, without dia-
monds or anything to cross or bless himself
with. Hugh Smith gave a 5000 diamond
| locket. He died few years ago while apolice
| commissioner, and had n grand funeral; and
everybody who knew the corruptness of the old
| fellow laughed as the procession marched down
Broadway. Police Superintendent James J.
| Kelso gave 81 800 ice bowl and one can get n
very handsome bowl for that sum. Kelso is
now an inspector of streets at yearly salary
less than $500. James A. Ingersoll who was
shortly after convicted with others Of the Ring,
and is now living in grateful obscurity here,
gave diamond wheat spray for the hair which
cost $500. A little, Insignificant, ignorant
police Judge, by name John Cox, gave chain
and diamond locket worth 5000, and died a
few years later needing the money. Judge
George B. Barnard, a brigand on the Supreme
Bench, gave only $1,000 gold, diamond, and
pearl necklace. He was inpeached within two
years, in spite Of the evidences of his poverty
which he put in as part of his defense that he
had been an honest Judge, and died few years
later, leaving an estate In Government bonds OF
Ss25, 600! Barnard was one of the California
| Argonauts who escaped from the San Francisco
vigilance committee along with w. W. Watson.
They came to New York, and Tweed made Bar
nard a Supreme Court judge, and Watson was
made County Auditor. Thomas J. Cramer, a
Senator, gave a 5, 600 silver set! Eugene Oar
win, a court officer, gave $500 for spoons. Cor
: nelus Corson sent q coral set and watch which
cost 5000, Wouldn't either of them like to be
| able to lay his hands semi-occasionally on half
| the sum he gave away to please the power that
: was-for the time being. There were gifts too,
: by some ladies; one of 5000 in a diamond
: locket and gold chain from person whom
met in front of the post Office the other day in
4 a thirty-dollar suit She insisted on telling me
! OF her later troubles. had known the others
II She was school teacher when she first met and
II loved Tweed. He spent large sums on her. and
In 1871, shortly after she gave this s., 900 present
TO Tweeds daughter, he abandoned her for an.
other woman, aud gave her and Thomas C.
Fields a cool S125, 900 to leave the country
She and Fields lived in Canada in poverty fol
years, and he died there year ago. The yer,
r same year that Tweed paid this Sl25,0O0 to bt
, ! rid Of his old love, he bought n $4,000 house
I and furnished 1t at cost Of $4,000 to satisf,
the new love And this too, was after his
arrest and Indictment and political downfall
g Isn't that an illustration without parallel of al
old FOOLS infatuationg And now, l wonder
what has become of all the necklaces ant
watches and diamonds and silverwarc which
these precious fools gave the poor bride
/ hear the complaint ot Prescott Hall Butler
e of the great law firm of Evarts, Choate & Bea
IS man, against Judge Hilton as trustee OF tn
f. Stewart estate largely commented upon as al
u amazing document :" come from law firm o
10 | such standing. 1t Z condemned not onl
N l voluminous but verbose. 1t introduces n grea
a mass Of matter which lawyers say unhesitatingl
=, will be thrown out by any Judge before whom
- motion 10 amend may be brought. 1t is ais
, | characterized as a civil action with crmna
OH
es to confuse public judgment. How the latter
10 to avail the plaintiff is mystery to Judg
he Hilton undoubtedly got good big slice of tn
v Stewart estate, but Judge Hilton also did
lg change of the sl,OOO,OO6 legacy left him b
In A. 7. Stewart for the dry-goods business d
Ii Tenth street was not 50 preposterous bal
ft gain for Mrs. Stewart as many imagin,
o. The death of Mr. Stewart was in itself sa
"a blow TO that business, in much the same sens
l., as the death Of great editor Immediately al
- % fects newspaper as property. 1t takes tim
70 rebuild a newspaper which was largely rel
resented by single personality; and IN til
OF and for considerable time languished after hi
n, death This was partly owing to Stewards al
II. surd opposition TO Broadway railway. In til
es absence OF such an accommodation on Broat
d. way, the elevated railroad carried shoppers I
NJ | Sixth avenue and built up innumerable DIR,
nd goods houses which, with cheaper rents, coul
So , underbid Stewart. | do not question that,
an the truth could be made known, Judge Hilto
- bought losing business from Mrs. Stewar
~ II waa, at any rate, one she could not coLduc
It is prosperous now, but time and the Broa,
way railroad have brought about the chang
In But as to the lawsuit, that will be an In
mt mensely profitable suit-for the lawyers for
re will be fought to the death by the most di
he tnguished and expensive lawyers on bo'
ily sides. 1t will last through many years, ar
Ia when 1t is finally decided the lawyers on bo
~ sides will get immense allowances out of Il
| estate The lrpakinp Of Wills is much
ire profitable business than the making of ther
as The wit of the lawyer in the play, who says OF
%e stubborn clients will, ~ hope have drawn
nc so II can be brokenn is true professional sair
eS These suits before the Surrogate here are We
10 often mighty close akin TO brigandagc.
m What a strange illustration ofcertain old ar
me familiar adages the life, death, and burial
er- the two Stewards presents. For instance, tn
My one about the uncertainty Of life and that abo
the riches which take wings and fly away. ImagiI
lii the toll and deprivation through which o
six Stewart went to accumulate an immense esta'
do. which was burden only that It might becOn
Inc the prey of body-snatchers and contestants
law! Imagine his building cathedral to GOV
the Carrara marble sarcophagus which was
contain his remains, and yet have his bon
hidden away by a burglar and grave-robbs
-, who died without imparting the knowledge
bi | his distrustful confederate Bah II docsI
,iri seem to me that the life Of millionaire Is a
u n more worth living than that Of an anchoric.
TO never hear OF man accumulating a million
hh ,h out thinking that the rest ofmankind have he
az ai. robbed.
,es The scattering Of the Stewart art gallery At
res further illustrates the morose philosophy tn
per all that glistens Is not gold. have seen
'th' often In the Stewart mansion, and though the
n.y. were not many pieces Of note, the few gre
pictures were well worth many visits. Ro
,,,, BOnheur's "liorsc Fair and Melssonic
1Gd 1Gd "lS07' were the great features Of this priva
III gallery--too private indeed, and the one gra
cation IN finding that II Is to he broken up
In the thought that these pieces may be plac
In some gallery where they can be seen, I
cw Meissonier is to my mind The more attractive
,oi oi the two. 1t is troop Of French cavalry sail
""' ing an imaginary officer, who is supposed to
In the position Of the observer Not only
every officers eye on this imaginary leader, |
every horses too. The observer finds that
OF eye meets that Of every man and animal on
canvas; and the Illusion Is produced as
! in passes from one side Of the canvas to the 9th
the that the horses and officers turn as he NOV
II ALWAYS presenting a full front to the lOOker-[